Buddha and Me-gami

Notice the representation of the Isshinryu-no-megami to the right of this page. Take notice in particular to the hands. One is raised in a closed fist while the other is down and open.

If you look at one of the many Yin-Yang emblems the postion of the hands will be in the approximate location of the dots, i.e. the white dot in the black half "yin" and the black dot in the white half "yang".

The open palm, megami left hand, of the Buddha represents the extended, the infinite. The closed fist, megami right hand, represents only itself.

Let us take some liberties with this in the following narrative:

In the me-gami the right hand is closed to represent the hard aspects of the style.

The open palm tells us that our training is not simply a goal to achieve but a life long endeavor that is never over. You can say that training is infinite in nature. Training and practice can take us all the way to a transitional point which brings the Tao.

The closed fist represents itself which might suggest that we can lose our path if we remain in ego, a closed mind, which is a trap that the ego puts in front of us and our bodies to lead us astray. If we close our minds to all the possibilities in life and through practice/training then we close ourselves to the possibilities that are afforded on the journey to enlightenment.

The open hand and closed fist represent duality, i.e. yin-yang (in-yo in Japanese). Dualism of nature as we live to become "one" or one with the Tao. All things begin with one.

The open hand reminds us continually that we must remain open while the closed fist also reminds us that the result of a closed mind in tantamount to being hit in the face with that same fist.

Don't just reach for the moon, let your reach extend to the stars and beyond. If the vastness of the Universe is nothing of significance then we are surrounded by empty space; what a waste. Think of it as the "void" which is represented by the circle that is symmetrical reality which points to all points of life; all points of life which are equal distance from the center which represents the "one", the Tao.

Tatsuo Sensei and his friends were very wise indeed when they caused the megami to be...much like his creation of Isshinryu. Even if by accident the connections through out the style and its gokui are quite interesting; don't ya think?